Wang Yan felt utterly drained of strength. After that voice came the sound of approaching footsteps, and a pair of shoes appeared in his field of vision, streaked with dried black blood. He lacked even the strength to look up at the person's face, but he did not need to see it. The voice alone told him who it was. He murmured feebly, "It's... you... Wang... Zi... ling!"
Just then.
Those feet took a few more steps toward the fallen Wang Yan. One rose and hooked him over onto his back as a cold voice said, "Hmph! You certainly know how to bide your time. You've wasted so much of mine!"
"It's you! Wang Ziling, didn't... you already leave?" The instant Wang Yan was flipped over, he saw clearly...
The newcomer was none other than Wang Ziling, who had left so long ago. A strip of cloth covered his nose, evidently to keep him from inhaling the mist. Wang Yan's eyes widened in disbelief as he murmured those words weakly.
"Hmph!" Wang Ziling snorted. Red light suddenly flickered around his foot, and he stamped down hard on Wang Yan's belly.
Thud! Wang Yan felt as though an elephant had stepped on his stomach. Pain twisted his intestines into knots, and he screamed, spewing a great mouthful of blood.
"How could I bear to leave before killing you, Senior Brother Wang Yan? Does it hurt?" Wang Ziling smiled with exquisite poise, speaking as though chatting with a good friend. His eyes crinkled with amusement, as if he thoroughly enjoyed Wang Yan's agonized expression. Then he paused, his face turning cold. He stroked the wound on his neck and said icily, "It hurts here too! All thanks to you!"
As he spoke, the red glow around Wang Ziling's foot intensified, and he ground it down with brutal force.
"Urgh! Aah!" Wang Yan screamed miserably. A deep footprint had been seared into his belly, and wisps of white vapor hissed from it. Wang Ziling evidently practiced a fire-element cultivation art; his foot was scorching hot. Beads of cold sweat streamed from Wang Yan, yet he could not muster even a trace of strength. He had never imagined Wang Ziling had not left. And that century green shade herb-had all of this been Wang Ziling's scheme? How was that possible? Was this fellow utterly determined to wipe him out?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! My dear Senior Brother Wang Yan, didn't I tell you there were medicinal herbs in this area? Why did you take so long to come? Do you look down on me?" Wang Ziling kept smacking his lips as he spoke. He paused, then continued with an air of deep regret, "What a pity. If you'd come earlier, we could have played a little longer. How about skinning you? Or slicing you into a thousand pieces? Such a pity. There's no time. Time is precious, you know!"
Hearing this...
Something suddenly flashed through Wang Yan's mind with a buzz. He remembered what Wang Ziling had said before leaving...
"Senior Brother Wang Yan! You came for spirit herbs, didn't you? How many more do you need? I have some extras. If you only need a few, I could spare you a couple!"
"Oh! That's a pity, then. I've looked over most of this hill, and there aren't any spirit herbs left. But I haven't checked the other side of that lake. You could try your luck over there, Senior Brother!"
"You could try your luck over there, Senior Brother!"
That voice echoed through Wang Yan's mind like a thunderclap...
So that was it...
Before Wang Yan could think further.
"Say, Senior Brother Wang Yan! Didn't I tell you to just give me your magic artifact and medicinal herbs? Then you wouldn't have put your junior brother in such a difficult position and forced me to get rough!" Wang Ziling bent down and spoke as he searched Wang Yan's body. At least his large foot was no longer pressing on Wang Yan's belly, giving him a little relief.
"Hah... hah... Wang Ziling, you'll die a horrible death!" Knowing there was no escaping his doom, Wang Yan could only curse between great, ragged gasps.
"I won't die. I'll attain the Dao, become an immortal, and ascend to the Immortal Realm! I'll live as long as heaven and earth! I'll rival the sun and moon in splendor!" Wang Ziling stripped Wang Yan of everything he carried and toyed with his short-sword magic artifact. He gazed at the sky with a savage expression as he proclaimed his towering ambitions. Suddenly, a murderous gleam flashed in his eyes as he looked down at Wang Yan. "My dear Senior Brother Wang Yan, you're the one about to die!" With that, he took Wang Yan's short sword in a reverse grip and viciously plunged it into his dantian!
Squelch! A muffled sound rang out. Agonizing pain stabbed through Wang Yan's dantian, and blood and blue light gushed from it. Wang Ziling was truly ruthless. He had pierced Wang Yan's dantian with a single thrust. Even if Wang Yan survived, with his dantian destroyed, he would never again have any hope of pursuing the great Dao of cultivation...
"Aah!" Wang Yan's eyes flew wide open as despair surged into his heart...
"Oh! Sorry, Senior Brother Wang Yan. I stabbed the wrong place!" Wang Ziling put on a frightened expression. It was hard to believe he was only an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy. Then, seeing Wang Yan's despair, his face lit with savage delight, and he chuckled sinisterly. "Ah! I've suddenly changed my mind, Senior Brother Wang Yan. All of a sudden, I can't bear to kill you!" As he spoke, red light flashed around his hand, and he seized Wang Yan by the neck...
A scorching heat burned Wang Yan's neck, making his throat feel as though it were on fire. The sensation was excruciating. Wang Ziling tightened his grip and lifted Wang Yan bodily by the neck, holding him up in the air...
Wang Ziling looked even thinner than Wang Yan, yet he possessed such tremendous strength...
He had channeled magical power into his arm, using it directly to increase his strength. Generally, cultivators in the Cultivation Realm did not yet have enough magical power to cast spells. Instead, they used it to enhance their strength, speed, destructive force, and similar abilities. These methods were somewhat like the martial arts and internal energy of the secular world, though magical power was far more wondrous and potent. The catch was that one needed an immortal root to cultivate it...
In this world, anyone who was human and not in a vegetative state could practice martial arts and internal cultivation, even someone with a disability. An immortal root was another matter entirely!
Among ten thousand mortals, perhaps only one or two possessed an immortal root and could practice immortal cultivation arts. That made immortal roots vitally important, and every sect and Lineage searched far and wide, resorting to swindling, deception, abduction, and theft to obtain people who possessed them...
Simply put, immortal cultivation had a high threshold for entry and stringent requirements, and cultivating was extremely difficult as well. Secular martial arts had almost no entry requirements, though mastering them was still exceedingly difficult.
Then!
"Urgh..." Wang Yan could barely draw breath. He did not know what secret drug Wang Ziling had used to render him completely motionless. Yet even this suffering could not compare to the despair of having his dantian destroyed. He glared at Wang Ziling so fiercely that his eyes seemed ready to split.
But!
Wang Yan was only a beginner in the Cultivation Realm. In some major sects, he would not even count as a cultivator. Ordinary drugs and knockout powders from the secular world were still highly effective against someone at his level. Besides, he had never expected Wang Ziling to lay a trap here at this moment. The mist had sprayed him squarely, leaving him no power to resist.
By now.
Wang Yan understood what had happened. Wang Ziling's scheming was extraordinarily vicious, and his cunning ran far deeper than his young age suggested. The whole of last night had offered an excellent chance for a sneak attack, since Wang Yan's magical power had already run dry. Yet Wang Ziling must have deliberately let him go to reel him back in. He had left, then secretly returned, watching Wang Yan for who knew how long, yet still restraining himself from striking.
Instead, he had relied on his earlier underhanded ploy. Clearly, he knew Wang Yan still lacked enough spirit herbs, so he had laid a trap here and waited for him?
Even with the deadline drawing so close that Wang Yan could no longer make it, he had still been able to hold himself back. Wang Yan had no idea where this boy had come from. He was nothing like a twelve-year-old youth. His viciousness was likewise beyond that of any ordinary boy. He was a little demon who killed without blinking.
But no matter what, it was all too late. Despite Wang Yan's utmost caution, he had still fallen into the trap. In the Cultivation World, what good end could anyone expect after falling into an enemy's hands-especially the hands of such a treacherous, venomous little demon?
Perhaps I'll become another corpse in that Mountain Cave! Wang Yan thought in despair. He remembered the revolting condition of the bodies in that Mountain Cave and could almost see himself becoming one of them...
Yet!
"Heh heh. Despair all you like. I've known worse despair than yours, but I'm still alive!" Wang Ziling said coldly. He paused, then grabbed Wang Yan by the throat and headed toward the woods, muttering to himself, "There isn't much time. That Mountain Cave is rather far away!" As he spoke, he had already set off. Suddenly, he accelerated, and the red light around his hand flared violently. "Go!" he roared, hurling Wang Yan straight over the cliff.
Wang Ziling shouted furiously, "This world devours people! Find a better life in your next incarnation!" It was unclear whether he was speaking to Wang Yan or to himself...
Whoosh! Wang Yan hurtled through the air as though riding clouds and mist. The only thing left in his vision was Wang Ziling's utterly savage face...
Splash! Water sprayed everywhere, and Wang Yan felt himself plunge into the icy waters of a lake.
"Time to head back..." Wang Ziling turned to look the way he had come and murmured to himself. Killing a member of his own Lineage was no different to him from slaughtering a chicken. He felt not the slightest pity. There was only icy coldness in his eyes...
Before you continue